I've entitled this blogsite "Gain Through Loss" because in my personal and professional life as a counselor I've observed that people who make the greatest impact on others are those who have gone through great loss. However, they are not consumed by the loss. They seek wisdom from God to help them understand how He can work the loss, the pain, for the person's good, the good of others and to Gods glory. The apparent loss had become gain. One of my first observations of this phenomia is the following story.


No Arms. No Legs. Whatever your lot in life - build on it.

The scene: Camp Grassick, a crippled children's camp near Dawson, North Dakota.
A 12-year old boy stood at the softball plate. The opposing pitcher began his wind-up. But the batter didn't have a bat. The pitcher threw the ball and as it proceeded to home plate, I saw the batter flip back his right arm and then quickly flick it toward the oncoming ball, clobbering it out of the infield.
But he didn't run. Another kid standing beside him took off for first base. As I looked more closely at the batter, I saw the bat he used was his artificial arm. He had knocked the stuffing out of that ball with a plastic arm. A second glance indicated his other arm was also man-made with a hook on the end of it.
You've probably guessed by now that he didn't run because his legs were made of the same material as his arms. The Creator had allowed John to be born with just stumps for arms and legs.

The drama continued. After the game, his counselor took John to the lake swimming area, removed his appendages and set him face down in about four feet of water. I gasped with fear for the child's safety and questioned the sanity of his counselor. My fears were quickly dispelled as I saw John lift his head out of the water, gasp for air, place his face back in the water and begin propelling himself by paddling his stunted arms and legs.
John was a "cut above" the rest of the campers. He was a very positive, outgoing young man that displayed an extremely sensitive spirit to the needs of his fellow campers. Everyone loved John.
Why does God allow this kind of pain - especially to children? Why did He allow John to be born without arms and legs? Easy answers are not available to these difficult questions - only tremendous challenges.
In Matthew 7:11 the Bible says, "You earthly fathers being evil love to give good gifts to your children, how much more does your heavenly father want to give to you." How could stumps be a "good gift" to John?
Let's speculate. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

James continues our theme in chapter one, verses 2-4:
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

John's parents must have instilled in their child a sense of acceptance of his "good gift." I imagine their words to him were something like: "Yes, son, this is a tough fate you have. I'm sorry. I hurt with and for you. However, God has allowed it to happen. How can this be His best gift to you? How can you benefit from it?"
Rather than wallowing in self-pity, John must have accepted their exhortation and was a living demonstration of the Corinthians and James challenges indicated above.
John accepted his position well. Nothing stood in the way of his becoming successful.
The last I heard, John had not only finished high school and college but also law school. He had become a successful lawyer, heading up an organization that represents legal and employment problems of handicapped people.

"Whatever your lot in life, build on it."

The author

Maiden voyage

Forgive my many blunders as this non-techie begins a venture on the blog. I stutter. A couple weeks ago, two of my close friends, independently without the other knowing, said, "Ray, you can't talk, why don't you write." To which I replied, "I've written books." "No," they said, "write a blog. God has been teaching you some rich life-truths through your stuttering and Parkinson's Disease. Share it with others."

Consequently herewith my maiden voyage. Please be free to email me with questions or thoughts. olaf.burwick@gmail.com